Hunting Quail in California and Oregon Public Land Maps, How to hunt quail, and access Hunting Clubs and Hunting Ranches

Hunting Quail in California and Oregon

Hunting Guides and Outfitters (see notices below)

Best Areas Public Land Maps for Quail Hunting

How to hunt quail, Hunting Clubs and Ranches

Most experts expect outstandingValley Quail hunting this year due to a mild spring andbe average or a bit betterBut even in good years, successful quail hunters pay a price.They invest the time it takes to do map research to ﬁnd areasthey can hunt often. They scout for coveys during the offseason. They train dogs, shoot skeet and/or trap and hike theirboots off during the season. Most important, skilled quailhunters never hunt coveys smaller than six or eight birds, theminimum needed to survive until the next year. So conservethe small coveys this season so you’ll have more to shoot nextyear!If you can not or will not work for birds, don’t bother withQuail, chukar.

Seasons: The general quail andchukar seasons for the balanceof the state run from Oct. 17 to~ Jan. 31. Chukar season inLassen and Modoc countiesends earlier on Dec. 27. Quailseason on the northern coastalso ends Dec. 27.Bag limits: Ten quail per day, 20 inpossession, in the aggregate ofall species. Chukar limit is sixper day, with 12 in possession.Best areas: See map.

.Look for theleast common ofthe quail requirements that concentrate birds —this year it’s water,but in other yearsit can be food ornesting cover.Experiencedquail huntersknow it is difficultto get specificinformation aboutcovey locationsfrom local hunterswho naturally donot wish to sharetheir favoritespots.. Instead,they check with UPS, gas company, PG&E, CalTrans andother workers who are out in the country and able to spotbirds, but may not hunt.I Improve shooting: Nobody can afford too many misseswhen they might only put up a couple of coveys a day. So avisit to a skeet range that better prepares you for the oddangles and wild ﬂying birds is a must. If you can, use 21 quailwalk approach and walk towards station 8 while your buddytries to wrong-foot you.

This kind of practice and the use ofportable traps helps ﬁeld results.Poor gun mount causes most misses when you rush to geton birds. So mount your shotgun and, with snap caps orempty shells in place to protect your ﬁring pins, practiceswinging and dry ﬁring.I Take your time: Cover as much ground as possible andyou ﬁnd more birds. Once you ﬁnd_or ﬂush a covey, take yourtime so you don’t miss birds. Of course, reputable huntersnever shoot coveys down past six or eight birds needed as seedbirds for next season.D0n’t shoot too fast! Valley quail tend to come up in wavesrather than all in a bunch. One or two laggard birds hangaround until you start to reload. So move around a bit beforeyou rush after pup.Try to shoot at one bird at a time! If you ﬂock shoot, youwon’! hit much. Some say they wait until birds cross to get twowith one shot or that they only shoot cock birds. These folksalso claim their pups always come when called, and that theirIf you or pup are new to valley or mountain quail hunting,shoot a few bob white on a preserve so you and pup can get up to speed. you might buy a few bobwhite from atrainer and set them out so pup learns about birds.

When you hunt, look for edges near open grasslands andcover. Watch for quail around water or dusting on the side ofthe road early and late in the day. If you hunt without dogs, tryto kick each and every brush pile you pass. Dogs are highlyrecommended!Look 5 or 6 feet over pup as you move in along his side toput up birds. Practice reloading without looking down at yourshotgun so you can spot laggard birds that ﬂush.Mark birds that you can spot landing. Most will move onlya short distance in decent cover and should hold better forpups ater the second ﬂush.Consider a call that makes the “Chi-ca-go” of valley quailor a hawk whistle to freeze birds running ahead of dogs.Listen after a covey ﬂush and you can hear birds sound theirassembly call. Experienced dogs, like experienced hunters,key in on this to find birds. With these points in mind youneed only ﬁnd 21 hunting area.

Find areas near home: Four separate areas CoastRange North, Coast Range South, North Valley, Foothillsdeserve close attention for valley quail. Each has sections thatHUNTERS who do their homework and prescout Saturdays general openershould be able to drop limits in areas with good numbers of the fast—ﬂying birds. Hunting the Parkﬁeld foothills range from good to fabulous — these normally behind fences with “Keep Out” signs every 50 feet. We have over 100 privat eranches and hunting clubs if you would like to increase your chances, see below for more information.

Coast Range north ‘The early coastal season in Marin, Napa, Sonoma,Solano, Lake and Mendocino counties offers a chance towork dogs early Birds mostly on private land are the rule inthe “wine” counties where George Carl of the Napa ValleyTimes noted that “quail seem scattered.”Note: it’s too late this year, but many vineyards have majorproblems with rabbits that chew through drip tubing. Quail.like rabbits, do very well in vineyards. If you help shootrabbits you can sometimes get invited to shoot quail.The most accessible shooting is in the MendocinoNational Forest along the crest of the Coast Range.

Whileslopes are often heavily covered with buck brush, workinghunters can score birds by walking creek beds or punching upthrough the lower slope to cover to the more open oak andgrasslands on the ridges. Coveys that dust at dusk along roadsin early season move back into the hills after a few days ofhunting pressure.Wild domestic cats and other ground predators reducequail numbers around population centers, but diligent hunters can still ﬁnd quail in the East Bay Hills and around Mt.Diablo. Lots of asking is required

Better are the valley slopes of the CoastRange in Yolo, Colusa, Glenn andTehama counties where much unpostedland eases access – lnterstate 5 gets youthere and back fast. The transition zonefrom grass to buck brush habitat holdslots of birds.Few hunters seem to get more than acouple of miles from dirt access roads.The key to action here is early scoutingto find open areas that offer shots. Mostspots feature chest high brush.

Coast Range southThe South Coast Range scattershunting on the ridges in San Mateo andSanta Cruz counties where map workcan ﬁnd public property, but permissionto hunt private lands seems tough to get.Hunting opens up towards Hunter Liggett and Camp Roberts in Monterey County. Regulations, permission andweekend hunts on the military can beobtained by calling 408-385-I205.Further south, the Panoche HillsWildlife Management Area and parts ofLos Padres National Forest offers easyaccess and decent birds if you walkaway from roads. Old Bums around BigSur and on private grazing land:the coast hold more valley ,quailmost hunters expect. The cool breeze from the ocean beatssweating up dry canyons further inland early in the seasontoo.San Luis Obispo County marks the southern limits formost Nor Cal hunters. lt has wonderful quail hunting towardSanta Maria and on mostly private, but largely unposted,property north of Morro Bay. We hunt unimproved landaround vineyards.

To the east in the Tremblor Mountains inKern County you can expect both valley and mountain quail.Bring lots of water and watch for snakes!

Sierra FoothillsThe foothills from Gold Country second home areas upand around Lake Shasta am a checkerboard BLM, nationalforest, state park and private lands that require careful mapwork. Most areas are dry, with buck brush and other shoulder- high cover to challenge snap shots. Old burns and other areaswhere the cover has thinned enough for easier shots workbest. Try to stay away from Auburn, Grass Valley and otherpopulation centers. Smaller public areas and unposted grounda couple of turnoffs from pavement offer the best action.

ln the Central Sierra, transition zone brush country in thel,000~ to 2,500-foot elevation band holds valley quail withthe best shooting concentrated along creeks away from roads.High elevation lands offer more national forest access: below1,500-foot elevations BLM maps that show public ownershipseem a must.Hunters do better on isolated public or, with permission,private land than on wildlife areas near population centersthat get hammered and, some say “overgrazed” such asSpenceville or Oroville recreation areas that are marginalduring the week and mobbed on weekends. Especially thisyear where cover did not grow as high as usual because of lackor rain.

Above 3,000 feet, mountain quail range overlaps valley quail. Since seasons do not, you need to tell the bobbingplume of the valley quail from the two long slender strandsthat top mountain quail, the largest quail in America.If you stay on ridges above 4,000 feet during mountainquail season and drop to lower elevation when gunningchanges to valley quail, you should have fewer problems.

Experienced hunters with dogs do reasonably well along streamsand around the edges of two- to three-year old burns. Tehama Wildlife Area is highly recommended if you avoid opening dayweekend and, if possible, hunt during the week.Calls help nail down these track stars that are not hard tolocate in more remote areas off pavement. Down birds seemparticularly difficult to spot, so a dog is a major aid.

North stateShasta, Siskiyou, Modoc, Trinity, Lassen, Tehama andother north state counties have the best quail hunting inNorthern California. Those who drive up and scout ﬁndbirds. ln many areas mountain and valley quail overlap toextend the hunting season. You can add pigeons on the ridgesand doves along sand bars by the river too.A mid-August scouting trip west of Red Bluff showedgood numbers of quail on Sacramento River islands, with access by boat, is a favorite with locals.

To the east, Tehama Wildlife Area seems one of the bestchoices for upland bird hunting around the Central Valley. Itis highly recommended if you avoid opening day weekendand, if possible, hunt during the week. Tehama County welcomes hunters and fishermen; Red Bluff is a “best bet” as aspot to stay during the season. Call the Red Bluff-TehamaChamber of Commerce for information at 9l6-527-6620.

In Shasta County, Shasta Trinity National Forest offerstotal access and reasonably open country. Some drive thenetwork of dirt roads early and late in the day to ﬁnd birds.Dedicated hunters hike along creeks and in other areas withdecent food, resting and nesting cover.The southern sections of Siskiyou County offer shootingin the sagebrush between I-5 and Highway 97. There are,frankly, so many hot spots for quail in this area this year thatyou really need only drive up and take a look. As always,birds do move away from easily accessible spots towards theend of the season.

Other options: The great Central Valley of California holds few quail.Fence-to-fence fanning has eliminated the berry hells, OsageOrange rows and other cover than once blanketed the valley.Blackberry bushes seem to signal quail here, but hunters needto be careful not to shoot birds that will fall in thick stickers.Tip; carry hedge shears to cut to birds pup can’t retrieve. Moststack up in heavy cover along rivers. Hunters who ﬂoat tohunt islands and unposted spots do well.The San Joaquin, Feather and Sacramento rivers are bestbets in areas with natural banks instead of riprap.

Other“aquatic” options worth a try are berms and islands in theDelta country if you spend considerable time scouting.Most of these offer bonus pheasant and ducks in seasontoo. They peak early in the season when dogs need water. Takeﬁshing tackle and you might take steelhead or salmon.

California hunting clubs, hunting ranches, public and even private fishing

Hunting private lands in California has several advantages over the public areas. Chief among these are much less hunting pressure, better forage and water supplies and easier vehicle access. It’s a fact of life, and hunting on private ranches is almost a sure thing.We use a hunting map site that has over 200 private ranches, with or without guides www.ranchhuntfish.com

It’s free, and get you access to our free map site too. Here is a copy of the home page:

RUSSIAN RIVER FISHING AND/OR CAMPING LODGE

Steelhead and small mouth bass and luxury camping close to casino in Alexander Valley...fully stocked camp kitchen. You can just stay in the lodge or add a guided fishing trip by boat, kayak, or ATV we provide.

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